UPDATE - Thailand enters period of mourning after king’s death

UPDATES THROUGHOUT

By Max Constant

BANGKOK (AA) – Thailand has begun marking a one-year mourning period with altars set up across the country for the public to pay homage to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died earlier this week after a 70-year reign.

Members of the Bhutan royal family also arrived in Thailand on Saturday to participate in funeral ceremonies.

Tens of thousands of people went to department stores, public parks and administrative buildings to participate in a symbolic bathing rite in front of altars surmounted with portraits of the late king, who died Thursday at age 88, and to sign condolences books.

“I cannot even express my feeling. I am crying all the time. I came to pay homage to him before he leaves,” 22-year-old Soraya Pornphen, who came to sign a condolences book in one of Bangkok’s biggest malls, told Anadolu Agency.

Only black and white clothes were displayed in the showcases of brand names shops while the atmosphere was subdued in the usually lively capital city.

Many events -- including commercial fairs and cultural festivals-- have been canceled across the country, while most entertainment places like bars and nightclubs have temporarily closed.

“The father of the nation has left us,” said 64-year-old Chaisri Serin, after participating in a bathing ritual in a public park.

“This king was the best of the Chakri dynasty. He is the one who worked hardest for the people,” he added.

King Bhumibol was the ninth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which started in 1782.

Altars have also been organized in city halls across the 77 provinces of the kingdom.

The surroundings of the Grand Palace, where the body of the king is kept in a golden urn according to Thai media, were thronged with thousands of people, as mourners began to arrive from provinces.

A building of the Grand Palace -- but not the one housing the monarch’s body -- was opened to the public for mourners to sign a condolences book. The queue to enter the site extended for almost one kilometer.

King Jigme Wangchuk of Bhutan and his consort arrived Saturday in Bangkok to participate in the rituals.

The royal family of Bhutan and the Thai royal family have had closed relationships since Wangchuk, then still a prince, attended the ceremonies of the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol’s coronation in 2006.

Messages of condolences have been pouring in from world leaders and heads of state, including Pope Francis.

A mourning period of one year has been decreed, cremation of the royal body and a funeral are due to take place in several months.

With Crown Prince MAha Vajiralongkorn asking for time before ascending the throne, Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda, the chairman of Thailand's Privy Council, is to temporarily head the regency according to the interim constitution.